Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, hailed the unanimous passage of an amendment to S. 3254, the "National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)," which clarifies that civilian law enforcement officers employed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) unambiguously meet the definitions in the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (LEOSA).

"The FOP has always maintained that existing language in the LEOSA clearly included civilian law enforcement officers employed by the Defense Department," Canterbury said. "With the amendment adopted by the Senate last night, there is no longer any question at all."

Senator James H. Webb, Jr. (D-VA) introduced S. Amdt. 2943, which was cosponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT). The language clarifies the definitions of "qualified active" and "qualified retired" law enforcement officer to include officers who have or had the authority to apprehend suspects under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and was crafted in consultation with the Office of Law Enforcement and Support with the Defense Department.

"We are deeply grateful to Senators Leahy and Webb for their strong commitment to see this amendment through, especially given the enormous number of amendments competing for floor time on the underlying bill," Canterbury said. "Their tenacity and perseverance really paid off for our members employed by the DoD."

The Senate continues its consideration of S. 3254 today and a final vote on the bill could be held before the end of the week. Assuming the Senate passes the legislation, the bill would still be subject to a House-Senate conference committee to reconcile S. 3254 with the previously-passed House version, H.R. 4310. The FOP is working, along with our Senate allies, to make sure the provision is retained in the final legislation.